S.D. Company Acquires Irvine Chipmaker

Irvine-based Mobius Semiconductor Inc. has been acquired for about $13 million by Entropic Communications Inc. in San Diego.

The cash deal also included equity incentives for retained employees. Mobius founders Aaron Buchwald and Avi Madisetti will be retained, along with an undisclosed number of engineers.

Mobius, established in 2004, makes high performance, low energy chips that convert analog to digital and vise versa, as well chips for control systems for radio, telecommunication, computer and other electronics applications.

The acquisition adds to Entropic’s strength in the advanced analog mixed-signal market and boosts product offerings for cable and satellite providers, with the aim at driving more entertainment streams and IP services to connected devices in the home, according to the company.

Entropic shares were down 3.3% in afternoon trading to a market value of about $386 million.

The company saw about $321.6 million revenue and $4.5 million in 2012.